Everest: Trail of rubbish

Mount Everest (also known as Qomolangma), the world’s highest mountain, is now the highest pile of rubbish. Over the decades, more and more mountaineers have conquered the roof of the world, but they’ve also left an “eyesore” trail of rubbish.

Discarded cl imbing equipment, oxygen cylinders, tents and human waste are left behind on this natural wonder.

In addition, glaciers melting because of global warming are exposing the accumulated trash. Nepal and China have made efforts to tackle this environmental issue. For instance, Nepal has instituted a US$4,000 deposit for each climbing team, which can be refunded if each climber brings down at least eight kilograms of garbage.

But Nepal’s strategy has had little effect — wealthy thrill-seekers don’t care about US$4,000 when they’ve already shelled out tens of thousands of dollars for the experience. If negligent tourists and mountaineers do not take responsibility for their own waste, they should be prevented from going there.